Residents from 11 villages gathered at Amilia village today to issue a declaration that they would not allow their forests to be converted into coal mines and demanded that they be given rights under the Forest Act.
NGO Greenpeace's senior campaigner Priya Pillai said a peaceful non-violent campaign was on for the last two years to ensure that allotment of the Mahaan coal block for mines would not mean ending the livelihood of 14,190 people.
At a meeting held on the occasion, a speaker said the government's model of development had failed.
The Mahaan Sangharsh Samiti was formed to fight for the protection of the forest rights of people living in five villages of Amilia, Bandhora, Budhera, Suhira and Bawatola, as well as protest against the joint venture of Essar and Hindalco for coal mining in the region.
